Kings fast bowler Usman Khan was unable to secure victory though Qalandars needed 16 to win off the final over, but Kings coach Arthur - who is also Pakistan coach - was not overly disappointed with the Super-Over defeat.

"[Usman Khan] Shinwari will learn from that experience," Arthur said. "The poor guy is devastated in the change room but he will learn and he will become better for that experience... Ultimately that's what this competition is for, it is for the emergence of young Pakistan cricketers, and making them feel what the pressure of playing this game is all about on the biggest stage in front of a massive TV audience. As long as our Pakistan players are developing, I'm really happy."

Afridi, who was named Player of the Match for his three-wicket haul, had given the youngster a ‘send-off’ after knocking out his stumps – a gesture that was widely criticised on social media as fans pointed out that the aggressive reaction must have been disheartening for the 19-year old.

Hours after the match, however, Badar posted a video of his dismissal on Twitter with the caption: ‘Still love you Shahid bhai.'

Afridi replied to the tweet with an apology. “I’m sorry what happened that was momentum of the game.. I always support my youngester. Good luck.”

Karachi Kings overcame Multan Sultans by 63 runs, with Afridi winning the Player of the Match award for bowling figures of 4-1-18-3.

ISLAMABAD - Former Pakistan captain and chief selector Rashid Latif has said that Karachi Kingskeen to play Pakistan Super League (PSL) final in Karachi and they have been working really hard for it.

Talking to The Nation, Karachi Kings wicketkeeping coach Latif said: “Frankly speaking, none of the teams so far has idea of what to do after winning the toss. We lost back-to-back matches, which was quite hurting, but defeating well-balanced and high-flying Multan Sultans boosted our morale, but losing against Lahore Qalandars last night once again disturbed us. Anyhow, it is cricket and sometimes results don’t go in your favour.”

He said Karachi Kings is a well-balanced side and their focus is to grab first four positions, but Islamabad United and Quetta Gladiators are giving us tough times. “The individual performances of our players are not as good as compared to other teams’ players, but we are doing well as a team. Our fielding and catching is world class and we will also soon get Eoin Morgan, whose inclusion will definitely help us flourish.”

When asked if Karachi Kings make it to the semifinals and then the grand final, whether international players would travel to Pakistan with the team, he said: “Off course, all the international players including Ravi Bopara, Colin Ingram, Denley and Mills are all highly passionate and looking forward to play in Pakistan. Only Eoin Morgan is yet reluctant to travel to Pakistan. Our strategy is not to panic the players.”

He said in the beginning, Kings and Multan Sultans were on the top and other teams’ were showing mixed results, but after initial setbacks, all the teams gathered momentum and now they all are doing well. “Multan lost four and Karachi lost three matches. Our focus is to first qualify for the semifinals. It is a huge league and every team has to play too many matches. We are working on improving areas, which we are lacking and hopefully, things would be perfect in next matches.”

The semifinals and the final scheduled to be held in Lahore and Karachi. On this, Latif said: “I am sure it will be a huge festivity when semifinals and final will be held in Lahore and Karachi. I can feel the pain and agony of the millions of Karachiites, who were deprived of watching their favourite heroes playing in front of them.

But now Karachi is as safe as any other part of the world and it is ready to host the mega PSL-3 final and I can guarantee it will be jam-packed stadium.” The former cricketer said credit must be given where it belongs. “I can see the sheer hard work, devotion and passion of Najam Sethi, who is working so hard to revive international cricket in Pakistan.

“In few years, I can see the PSL would be one of the best leagues and entire PSL would be held in Pakistan. It is only a matter of time and things would be perfectly suitable to conduct all kinds of international matches and ICC mega events in Pakistan, which is best place on earth for pulling up massive crowds and the way Pakistanis give respect to sporting icons is no secret,” Latif concluded.

SHARJAH: England’s limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan Wednesday reckoned Pakistan was moving in the right direction in terms of reviving cricket in the country, hoping more betterment in the next couple of years.

Morgan joined Karachi Kings and will lead the team in the absence of regular skipper Imad Wasim who injured himself in the match against Lahore on Sunday and remained under observation for concussion.

“I certainly think that steps in that direction have been taken. The last year’s PSL final, I believe, was a success and all the players who traveled thoroughly enjoyed their time,” said Morgan.

Pakistan had been a “no go” area for international teams since March 2009 attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus which suspended all international cricket in the country.

But last year’s PSL final in Lahore paved way for three Twenty20 internationals against a World XI and a single Twenty20 international with Sri Lanka.

This year’s PSL will have two play-offs in Lahore and the final in Karachi on March 25, followed by three Twenty20 internationals against the West Indies in April.

Morgan praised more efforts taken by Pakistan Cricket Board of staging two play-offs in Lahore and final in Karachi means more progress.

“I am sure the people of Pakistan really enjoyed that cricket back in their country. More steps are taken this year, we saw international games played there. This year more PSL games will be played there so over the course of couple of years more progress will be made. West Indies is touring there in April for three Twenty20 so naturally there is a progression moving forward,” remarked Morgan.

Morgan said he was unavailable for the Pakistan leg of matches.

“I am not available for the Pakistan leg. Its been a long winter for me I have been away since December so unfortunately I am unavailable,” said Morgan who led England to 3-2 one-day series win over New Zealand earlier this month.

When asked about Karachi Kings captain Imad Wasim’s injury, Morgan termed the incident infortunate but said Imad is on the path to recovery.

“I was in the flight when the incident happened. Imad injured himself, its unfortunate that he is unable to play in a few matches but he has recovered well,” said Morgan of Imad.

Morgan, who will lead the team in Imad’s absence said he will try his best to help Karachi Kings, which needs to win one of their two matches to qualify for the play-offs.

“I have been watching the PSL in New Zealand. I know the place quite nicely. We have a good mix of players with Babar Azam and others, its always interesting and challenging. We will sit down tonight and settle the right combination. Its an exciting challenge, with a lot of teams playing for last four. Islamabad leads the table and they have been playing good cricket, ” concluded Morgan.

Karachi Kings, one of the most popular franchises in the competition, booked the final spot in the play-offs with a clinical victory over table toppers Islamabad United
The Karachi Kings playing the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) final in Karachi would be a dream but coach Mickey Arthur urged everyone not to get too ahead of themselves and plant their feet firmly on the ground.

The Karachi Kings, one of the most popular franchises in the competition, booked the final spot in the play-offs with a clinical victory over table toppers Islamabad United at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday night.

The win pushed out tournament debutants Multan Sultans and vaulted the Karachi Kings to second on the table.

That meant the two teams square off yet again in the Qualifier at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday night.

Arthur said that they had ticked a few boxes but there was more left to go.

"I am a relieved man. It is good to qualify. We sort of put little ticks in place. And tonight, we ticked two of them in one game and I think I mentioned at the first press conference that our first tick was qualifying, our second tick was getting into the top two and then obviously winning that game, going straight to Karachi and winning a final. That was sort of our plan and thankfully tonight, we ticked two of those boxes," said Arthur.

"To be honest, it has added pressure right from the start of the tournament because everybody is saying 'we will have Karachi in the final.' We are saying 'hang on guys' as we haven't even played our first game yet. They are selling memorabilia in Karachi already. We have got to take it one step at a time and be realistic. That would be incredible for the competition and incredible for our franchise if Karachi can play the final in Karachi. It will be amazing but we still have couple of games to go," he added.

The South African said that Sunday's Qualifier will be quite different with Islamabad United back to full strength. Misbah-ul-Haq's side had rested pacer Mohammed Sami, opener Luke Ronchi and left-arm spinner Samit Patel.

Business gurus will tell you that the basic prerequisite for any business, any new venture is the buyer. Product is secondary, and can be conjured in more ways than one as long as the buyers and their demand exist.

It is this guarantee of ready-made demand that makes sports franchises the world over attach the names of countries with their leagues and cities with their franchises.

A so and so premier league appeals to no one; but attach 'Indian' to the name, and more than two billion ears perk up at once. There's your demand before the product has even taken shape.

In the same way, the meaningless Knicks, when attached to New York, have the attention of the financial capital of the world.

The practice arouses instant curiosity, creates instant demand, and you can't go wrong with it. Which brings us to the matter at hand: the Karachi Kings.

Wondering what has this preamble on franchising, their nomenclature and basic economics got to do with the Kings?

You see, another of the many wonders of sports franchising is that every team starts with a clean slate. On day one, at least, no franchise has disgruntled fans. In the years to come, franchises do attract critics and alienate their own with either (or both) failure or misconduct — but certainly not on the day of their inception.

This is where the Karachi Kings seem to have made history.

They came into being on December 3, 2015 when the Pakistan Cricket Board sold the Karachi franchise to the ARY Group.

Since their debut, however, the team hasn't been able to sell itself to Karachiites completely. It is not at all uncommon for a Karachi born-and-bred to not just openly root for other Pakistan Super League franchises, but also wish catastrophes of Qalandarian magnitude on the Kings.

Ranging from "I just want anyone not named Karachi Kings to win", to "I want Quetta — the real Karachi side — to win", to some absolutely unpublishable obscenities — a surprising number of Karachiites seem to have a very uncharitable opinion of the cricket team that — on paper at least — is supposed to represent them.

Even those of the port city's inhabitants who otherwise eagerly own everything Karachi — even the sweet drawl that turns Pepsi into "Paipsi" — seem to have trouble warming up to the Kings.

For a nascent three-year-old franchise that, on the results front, may have underwhelmed but not disgraced itself a la, let's say, Lahore, these are shocking opinions for its own fans to harbour.

In contrast, you will find Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta and Multan fans steadfastly supporting their teams. Even the Lahore fans, whose franchise has become the laughing stock after completing a hat-trick of bottom-of-the-table finishes, haven't yet retracted their support for their team.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what's 'different' about the Kings. If they're loathed by a section of their city, there is certainly some reason to the madness.

The Kings, wittingly or unwittingly, have accumulated a raft of polarising figures whom some love to love, but others love to hate. Their owner is a media mogul with an unabashed political alignment; their shirt sponsor is a controversial construction tycoon; their captain is a Welsh-born utility player; and their pace spearhead is an ex-con.

This year, they added a guy who often promises 'Boom Boom' but mostly goes 'Ba Dum Tiss'.

Also, the kits they wear are blue — a colour that, in the cricketing world, is more frequently associated with the national team's arch-rivals.

Afridi in a blue Karachi shirt — PSL
The cherry on top seems to be the needless braggadocio in the Kings' theme song. Where other teams went for pumped-up tunes highlighting local culture, Karachi's 2018 track warned rivals "na bharam day pitch pay" (don't get cocky with us on the pitch), and the umpires: "appeal ko jo na manay ga dharna de ker manwa lenge" (those who won't accept our appeal will be made to accept through sit-ins).

What more could you possibly need.

These are all little things, but during the course of the campaign and a franchise's life, they add up. And they have certainly added up in Karachi's case.

Of course, the sheer size of the city means the Kings' support will drown out the comparatively smaller opposition. And if they end up winning PSL 2018, the murmurs will die out even more. The flaws in their composition and ethos, however, will remain — and for that they will remain what is arguably the most hated franchise of the PSL.

DUBAI: Karachi Kings’ skipper Eoin Morgan blamed poor bowling for defeat against Islamabad United in the Qualifier match held at Dubai.

Speaking in a post-match press conference, the England captain said: “We batted ok, we didn’t bat at best, it was a competitive total but not a match-winning total. We don’t start well with the bowl that allowed Luke Ronchi to get himself in and play in his aggressive manner, a couple of loose deliveries and from there he really did take the game from us.”

“When you play innings like that it surely is match-winning innings,” he said.

United has qualified for the PSL final after defeating Kings by eight wickets in Qualifier game on Sunday.

Morgan said that Kings’ could not take advantage of the chances given to them by the United batsmen.

The top-order batsman said that he enjoyed his experience while playing in the Pakistan Super League, and expressed his desire to continue playing in the tournament in future.

Responding to a question, he said that Kings dropped a number of catches in the tournament, adding that perhaps catches were dropped because of dew in Sharjah, but the same explanation cannot be given for the fielding errors committed in Dubai.

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